You can tell Barry goodbye!

There’s a press conference at 5 p.m. and much reaction to come. So I’ll have a much better chance to gather my thoughts at that point. But I will say this immedately:

Why did they wait this long?

This is an announcement the Giants could’ve and probably should’ve made as soon as Bonds hit his 756th home run. It would’ve put fans on alert that they had six weeks left to see Bonds, and that certainly would’ve been an aid to the turnstiles. And truthfully, they probably owed Bonds that much. No doubt that the man has pulled the Giants strings as if they were marionettes over the years, but I’d venture an argument that without Bonds, there would’ve been no AT&T Park.

Anyway, Bonds expressed disappointment that he wasn’t notified earlier, but my guess is he’ll have to get used to not getting his way. He hasn’t made a lot of friends in the game — the universal response you get from folks inside of it when they speak off the record is a) an acknowledgment of his phenomenal talents and b) his miserable talents as a human being — and that could hinder his chances to find further work.

That said, if he’s willing to swallow some pride, there will be room for him somewhere. The Angels are a team that immediately pops to mind.

Anyway, it’s the end of an era. It’s an exciting day, and a melancholy one, too.